The content of total alkaloid in the seed of Peganum harmala L. was determined by bro-mophenol blue colorimetry. It could be considered that this is a specific, quick and simple method for thedetermination of total alkaloid in the seed of P. harmala.

Aim To summarize the principles, applications and future development in oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. Methods The ORAC assay method use Sodium Fluorescein as fluorescent probe, AAPH as free radical initiator, and results are expressed as Trolox equivalents. Results This method has several advantages compared with other methods in linear responses with concentration, specificity, precision, accuracy and ruggedness. Conclusion The ORAC assay has been widely accepted and largely applied to the assessment of free radical scavenging capacity of pure compounds, biological samples, plant and food extracts.

Many constituents with novel structures have been isolated from marine brown algae,some of which possess various bioactivities.The terpenoids,lipids,steroids,phlorotannins and some other compounds isolated from brown algae through 1993~2000 were reviewed in this article.

A new method of mismatching PCR-RFL P was performed in our lab in ge- netic diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy(SMA) and controls.Our data shows:9cases in 1 0 presumed SMA children are positive,i.e. deletion of telomeric SMN gene.One case is negative.2 0 cases of normal familial members and2 0 cases of normal controls are all nega- tive.Our results matches the criteria and reports of foreign countries.The method we used is highly specific,sensitive and useful and is suittable for genetic diagnosis of SMA and its prenatal diagnosis.

Three active compounds were isolated from the marine bryozoan Bugula neritina living in the South China Sea by bioassay-guiding isolation method with a combination of extraction with suitable solvent and multiple column chromatography(Sephadex LH-20, ODS and preparative HPLC). Their structures were assigned as known bryostatin 4, bryostatin 5 and bryostatin 6 by intensive analysis of the data of high resolution 2DNMR(600 MHz,DQF-COSY,TOCSY,HMQC and ROESY). All these compounds were obtained from this bryozoan in the South China Sea for the first time and showed significant antineoplastic activities in vitro.

Many marine steroids with novel structures have been isolated, some of which possess various bioactivities. The new compounds reported through 1996~2000 were reviewed in this article.

Objective To explore the effects of Nimodipine on oncogene c-fos and c-jun mRNA expressions in dorsal root ganglia of rats following acute sciatic nerve injury.Methods Nimodipine at a dose of 10 mg/kg at 5,15,30,60 and 120 min and at a different dose of 2.5,5 and 10 mg/kg at 60 min was given to each rat through intraperitoneal injection before transection of sciatic nerve.Using reverse transcription PCR(RT-PCR) technique,the c-fos and c-jun mRNA expressions were detected at 5,15,30,60 and 120 min after injection of Nimodipine and following acute sciatic nerve injury.Results Compared with control group,the expressions of c-fos mRNA in injury group were obviously increased at 30,60 and 120 min after injury(all P

Objective To explore the clonality of the T cells and the role of cellular immunological pathogenesis in chronic asymptomatic HBV carriers (AsC) by TCR CDR3 size spectratyping and determining sequence. Methods The TCR CDR3 region genes of 24 BV families were amplified by utilizing inverse polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology, and the CDR3 size lengths of T cell receptor (TCR) ?-chain were analyzed with Genescan technology for 4 healthy individuals and 9 AsCs. The clonality of T cells presumed by spectratyping was further confirmed by CDR3 sequencing. Results The CDR3 repertoire of 4 healthy individuals showed Gaussian distribution. The clonal expansions of T cell were observed in 8 out of 9 AsCs. The expanded T cells have different CDR3 sequences. Conclusion There is significantly clonal expansion in the compartment of the peripheral blood T lymphocyte in AsCs. The expanded T cells do not have homogenicity.

Objective To investigate the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1)and CCR2 in peripheral blood and pleural fluid of tuberculous pleurisy patients.Methods Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of CCR2 in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell and pleural fluid cell of tuberculous pleurisy patients;ELISA was used to detect the content of MCP-1 in serum and pleural fluid.Results MCP-1 in surem and pleural fluid and CCR2 in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell and pleural fluid cell of tuberculous pleurisy patients was significantly higher than that of the healthy normal controls[MCP-1:(340.8±220.8)and(9.0±3.8)ng/L,P＜0.01;CCR2(18.2±10.1)%and(6.9±3.5)%,P＜0.05];Both MCP-1 and CCR2 were detected in pleural fluid and both of them were positivley correlated(r=0.227,P＜0.05).Conclusion The expression of MCP-1 and CCR2 in peripheral blood of tuberculous pleurisy patient are significantly elevated which are significance molecule participating in the pathogenesis of tuberculous pleurisy.